Bruises From Home
by WeirdNikkii
Summary: Gorillaz rescue and take in a new friend for Noodle but with the friend's past, it's brining new demons to Kong. Will they be able to ban them before time runs out?


**Bruises From Home**

**A.N: I thought about it, and I decided it's time to bring in an OC. I'm going to try as hard as possible not to make this like the other fanfics with O.Cs...no parings...sorry. However, since I'm just starting out at this, I'm basing my O.C off of me...the person I know best! They say to know what you write about! However, no worries, I _will_ make it interesting! Maybe not at frist, but ohhh baby! I have a nice thick juicy plot for this!**

**Disclaimer: The Gorillaz characters and anything related to are NOT mine, sadly, unfortunately. They belong to Damon and Jamie. However, this other character (don't wanna give away the name before you find out!) is mine and if you would wish to use her, simply ask..highly doubt you will but, hey, just saying!**

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"What the hell?" cried the New Yorker's voice through the studio as he fell out of bed. He looked up at his clock, three A.M in the morning...who the hell would be here? Everyone was accounted for tonight with no guest. Damon and Jamie were in the states...so it couldn't have been them either. He made his way to the bedroom's door and slowly opened it.

"AHH!" he was kicked back, "AKUMA! AKUMA!"

The Jap was standing over him, her fist ready to punch.

"Noodle!" gasped Russel looking up at the youngest band member.

Noodle backed down, "Russel-sama! Sumimasen! Watakushi ga warukatta! I thought you were a demon that had hurt you."

"It's ok, baby girl," said Russel sitting up and holding himself up by clutching to his knees.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!  
_"I think someone's at the door," stated Noodle looking down the hall way. "Should we take the lift?"

Russel shook his head, "stairs."

They weird looking pair walked down the stairs while the knocking on the door became more desperate and rapid. They came close to the door in the lobby and then the knocking stop. Noodle leaped for the doorknob but the giant Russel grabbed her by her pajama shirt collar and pulled her back, "Better let me...never know who's around at three in the mornin', yo know?"

Noodle crossed her arms. "I can defend myself, Russel-sama!"

"I know," said Russel unlocking the door, "but someone would wanna steal ya, yo such a pretty girl, and as for me, heh, no one mess with me, I'm a bit bigger than most people."

Slowly he opened the door with Noodle doing her best to look around her brother-like figure's shoulder. Rain was pouring down like almost every other night and there was a thunderstorm brewing somewhere in the distance. Nothing had jumped out at them, yet. Russel peeked around the door and slammed it shut.

"Zombies," he muttered.

Noodle furrowed her eyebrows. "They aren't smart enough to _knock_ on the door!"

Russel thought over it for a jiffy and slowly opened the door again. The zombies were crowded around the door stoop, moaning and groaning but then there was a more human voice. Noodle shoved Russel out of the way and look down to find a person on the door step.

Noodle tugged on one of Russel's sleeves, "Russel-sama...Ane..."

It was a girl, maybe a bit older than Noodle, and definitely not well. The zombies were kicking her around knowing that she was probably close to dead and just wanting to finish her off before they ate her. She was bloodied up and probably had a couple dozen bones broken by now. Russel looked down and saw this, "OH, Jesus Christ!" He grabbed the girl by her left arm, which came up at weird angle, and pulled her through the door into the lobby. Noodle slammed the door shut as soon as her feet past the door, knocking one of the zombies over creating a domino effect in the whole group. Russel squatted down to examine the girl. Blood was covering her face which distorted her features and made her, what they both thought, blond hair, was crusted over in reddish brown blood. Her clothes were all torn at weird angels and her jeans were frayed and one of the legs of the pants had been ripped off to her mid-thigh. Her breath came in small short gasp and her chest barely rose with each one.

"Is she going to die?" asked Noodle trying to brush some of the gross hair out of the girl's face.

"I dunno," said Russel picking her up gently bridal-like, "but we need to get her some real help."

As quickly as he could without bouncing the girl around, he made his way down to the car park with Noodle only two steps behind him.

"Maybe it was a crazed fan," said Noodle as they went down the lift, "and she tried to break in but the zombies got to her before she could."

Russel nodded, "very possible."

The lift stop and the doors opened. They dashed down the corridor and burst into the dark car park. Russel swiftly walked over to the Winnebago and Noodle opened the door, still managing to carefully hold the injured girl.

"Muds!" cried Russel, "need yo to drive this thing to the hospital."

Murdoc sat up suddenly from his bed, surprisingly alone, which Noodle was thankful for. "FUCK! Wot the bloody 'ell?"

"Hospital!" cried Noodle flicking on some of the lights, "now!"

"Dullard O.D again?" asked Murdoc referring to 2D as he rubbed one of his mismatched eyes.

"No," stated Noodle, "we found her on the front door."

"Her?"

"Oh, knock it off, man!" said Russel enterering the Winnebago. "Zombies got to her."

Russel set the limp body down on the black sofa that was located behind the drivers seat and stumbled up to the driver's seat. He found the keys on the dashboard and started up the Winnebago.

"'EY!" shouted Murdoc, who leaped off of his bed and halfway across the Winne, "Wot the bloody 'ell do ya think ya doing?"

"We need to get this girl to the hospital," stated Russel calmly. Murdoc looked over at their new 'guest' and scrunched up his nose, "'ad worse done to me."

Russel put the Winnebago into reverse.

"Ok! Ok!" cried Murdoc grabbing Russel by the shoulders and trying to pull him out of the drivers seat, "I'll take 'er!'

Russel slid over to the passenger's seat and Murdoc took the drivers seat, not exactly expertly moving the vehicle out of the car park.

"Would you try to drive like a normal person?" asked Russel glancing back at the sofa, "she's hurt pretty bad."

"Want to get there quickly or not?" asked Murdoc pushing the Winne just a little bit faster. The hospital wasn't too far away, half an hour at the most if you followed the speed limit, but if you were Murdoc Niccals, it'd only take half the time.

He hit a bump in the road and the girl fell off the sofa. This woke her up and she began screaming in pain. Noodle, who was sitting in the spare chair clapped her hands over her ears.

"Fuck!" screamed Murdoc over the girl's screaming, "do something!"

Noodle slumped down to the floor next to the girl, "It's ok, we're getting you help." The girl looked up at her, her gray eyes unfocused and full of pain, she moved her hand up to her ribs and groaned loudly.

"Shh," said Noodle trying again, fruitlessly, to pull some of the hair from her face. This only seemed to upset and confuse her more and she began screaming again.

_THUMP!_

Noodle sighed and smacked her on the forehead, knocking her out again.

"Noodle!" scolded Russel.

"What else was I supposed to do?" cried Noodle as she lifted the girl back onto the sofa.

---

A couple hours went by and everyone just wanted to go back to Kong and go to sleep. Finally though, the doctor game.

"So, what's her name?" the doctor asked Murdoc in the waiting room.

"I have no friggin' idea," said Murdoc staring down the doctor.

"We found her like this," replied Russel, "we weren't able to get a name or anything. The only time the girl was awake, she was screaming."

Noodle sat slumped over in her chair, her elbows resting on her knees, and her chin resting in her hands, "I had to knock her out to keep her from screaming," she added, "that's all she would do. She did bring her hand up to her ribs though..."

"She had four broken ribs and another two are cracked" said the doctor looking down at a clip board that he had carried in with him, "her left arm was broken in two places and her wrist is jammed but surprisingly her right arm was only scratched and bruised. Her right ankle is fractured and bone on her lower left leg is cracked too. May I ask how this happened?"

"Wouldn' believe us if we told ya," said Murdoc. He had learned on the ride over that the zombies had gotten to her.

"So it wasn't you guys that did this to her?"

Noodle looked up at the doctor, "Why in the world would we do something like this?" asked Noodle, "we brought her here...to get her help...it's not like we'd do this just to get to go the hospital."

"Alright," said the doctor, "well, I'll just need someone to sign this saying that she was, in fact, here and had all these injuries."

Murdoc snapped the clipboard out of the doctors hands and hastily signed where he needed to and tossed it at the doctor's feet. He stooped over and picked it up and looked at the signature, "Murdoc Niccals, huh?"

"Oh, don't ask for an autograph," snapped Murdoc, "or we'll fuckin' leave this instant."

"I wasn't going to," defended the doctor, "the name just rings a bell, that's all."

"Gorillaz," sighed Russel, "he's the bassist."

The doctor tapped his clipboard with a pen, "That also rings a bell."

"Feel Good Inc., Dare, Dirty Harry," Noodle chimed in trying to help.

"Ahh," said the doctor, "I know who you guys are!"

"Thanks," mummbled Murdoc sarcastically, "now go announce it to the world so we can do a fuckin' press conference!"

Russel reached over and smacked Murdoc on the back of his head, "He isn't going to tell anyone," said Russel looking up at the doctor, "right?"

The doctor nodded slightly and left. He could tell this group didn't want to be messed with and were obviously not in the happiest mood about staying awake throughout most of the early morning.

"Well," said Noodle standing up, "he was nice. I'm going to go get some food. Anyone else want to come with?"

Russel and Murdoc said no. Noodle was slightly surprised that Russel had turned down the offer but shrugged it off and headed down the hall. When it came time to take a turn for the cafeteria she turned the other way and headed towards her patient's room. She knew she wasn't supposed to be in there, but she wanted to check on the girl. Slowly she approached the room..255, and opened the door. The room was dark except for the T.V blaring some infomercial on some 'miracle shampoo.' The door clicked behind her.

"Hello?"

The voice was weak.

"Are you awake?" Noodle whispered. She heard bed sheets ruffling and saw the girl sit up and look around.

"Ohayou gonzaimus," greeted Noodle.

"Ohayou," muttered the girl. "Hsjimemashite."

Noodle came a little closer, "Nihongo o hanashimasu ka."

"Iie, I only know a few words here and there," she coughed, "I'm teaching myself."

"Oh," Noodle said, slightly disappointed, "forgive me for being rude. My name is Noodle."

"You knocked me out," she said defensively sitting up a little more and hitting a button on the side of her bed to turn on some dim lights. Her gray eyes squinted at her and it made Noodle shiver. People said that _she_ had intense eyes, but this girl had eyes that could kill from a single glance if they wanted to. She could tell even in the dim light.

"You were in a lot of pain," Noodle explained quickly, "I thought it would be better if you were unconscious!"

Noodle finally got a good look at the girl. She was cleaned up now and had light blond hair that fell past her shoulders in gentle waves. Her eyes were a blue-ish gray and were easily her best facial feature next to her very dominate nose and distinctively shaped pale lips. She looked older than Noodle, but underneath the bed sheets she could tell that she was either the same height as her or shorter.

"Wait," she said looking at Noodle, "You're _Noodle_! From Gorillaz!"

"Yeah..." Noodle said coming a little closer, "no big deal though..."

"I'm a huge fan," she stated extending her right arm to give Noodle a handshake, "but I never thought that I'd actually meet you guys."

"Heh," said Noodle, "we're not too big on meeting fans. Well, I am, but Murdoc-sama, he's not exactly keen of them unless they're whores."

The girl chuckled but stopped quickly to place her good arm on her now aching ribs.

"And how the hell did you mange to find me?" asked the girl.

"You got to _our_ lobby door!" explained Noodle, "the zombies were after you! You nearly died!"

"Oh," she fumbled with one of the blankets, "well, thank you..."

Noodle nodded, "What is your name?"

She hesitated for a second, "I don't know."

"Silly," smiled Noodle pulling up a chair, "you have to know what your own name is, unless that bump to the head gave you amnesias."

"Well," she said, "I _do_ have a name and all, I just don't like it. So I go by Mutsuki. Mutsuki Satou."

Noodle grinned, "That's the old word for January. And the equivalent to Smith. January Smith?"

The girl rolled her eyes, "Sounds better in Japanese, huh?"

Noodle nodded slightly and glanced over at the clock that was mounted onto the wall above the small single window. It reminded her of Armageddon clock that once resided in her room and with that the Jap shuddered at some of the memories it brought back to her. When she came back around her small eye's blinked...it was almost noon already. Time had passed by so slowly but she didn't expect it to be noon. Then it came back to her that the band had practice scheduled at two. Murdoc _lived_ by practices...if they had to cancel or miss, even Russel and Noodle hid from him in fear of a good punch to the gut or slap across the back of the head. With them all being so tired there was an uncertainty of whether practice would start as scheduled, delayed, or canceled. Knowing Murdoc, he'd probably rush all of them back to the studio, shove coffee down their throats, and throw their instruments at them, giving them just enough time to tune them before he started into one of his grueling practices that lasted for hours. Noodle didn't mind, she was trained to play guitar, but sometimes 2D got restless and would give up half way through a song. This started yet another brawl at Kong between the bassist and singer.

"Thinking about something?"

The voice snapped Noodle's mind back into the small hospital room, "yeah, practice."

"Well, don't stay here for me," snorted Mutsuki, "I'm gonna be here for a _looong_ time and even after that, I'm going to have to find some way to pay off the bills."

"Won't your parents?" asked Noodle innocently but as soon as she did, it became regret. Mutsuki's eyed glazed over and her memory seemed to trigger painful ones. Then she shook her head, her hair brushing in front of her eyes, "Don't have any."

"You _have _to have parents though," said Noodle, "just like a name."

"Well, yeah," said Mutsuki, feeling like she had just had this conversation, "but they weren't exactly _great_ parents. Let's just say some of these bruises aren't from the zombies to begin with. So, that's probably why I ended up at Kong Studios. Dunno exactly _how_ I landed on the front door of one of my favorite bands...must have been drunk or something. Yeah..." she took a breath to try to regain some energy, "anything's better than the U.S though."

"I thought you had an accent," said Noodle.

"I _hate_ my so called 'accent' with a passion," snapped Mutsuki.

Noodle was taken back. Obviously Mutsuki had some problems and wasn't ready to share. Plus, she started to look tired to. Noodle noticed that her face had paled since she had entered the room and her eyelids drooped just a little more than before.

"I should leave," said Noodle standing up, "it was nice to meet you though."

"Yeah," said Mutsuki, still reminiscing on some not-so-fond memories, "thanks."

Noodle walked over to the door and then turned around, "We'll pay for the bills."

Mutsuki looked up at the Axe Princess, "really?" Her expression changed to a softer, happier one. "That'd be great...it really would...if it wasn't any trouble."

Noodle smiled and nodded, "Would you like me to come back?"

Mutsuki seemed to chew it over in her mind a few times, taking the offer as if it were a new bittersweet candy she had just tried for the first time. Her lips pressed together and became a straight, thin line and then finally, "At your convenience. Don't want to disturb Gorillaz from their music or anything. That's pretty...important."

"I'll be back after practice," announced Noodle without hesitation, "and I'll bring 2D with. I think you and him would get along pretty well."

Mutsuki looked down at her arm that was wrapped in a cast, "doumo."

It was a barely audible whisper, but Noodle heard it anyway. She shut the door and made her way back down the hall. She turned the corner and

"Noodle!"

She looked up. Murdoc glared down at her and he didn't look too happy.

"'Ere the bloody 'ell 'ave ya been?" he asked sharply.

"Getting food," said Noodle.

"Don' ya start lying ta me, girl," he snarled, "we looked in the café an' no freakin' Noodle was there!"

"Fine," said Noodle, "I was visting Mutsuki."

"Who?"

"The girl we brought in," replied Noodle. "I felt...bad for her."

"Stupid little--" Murdoc caught himself, "OK, fine, but we want nofing ta do with her, got it?"

"I said we'd pay the bills," stated Noodle.

"Wot?"

"I said we'd pay the bills."

"Thas' it, you're GROUNDED!"

Noodle looked up at the band leader and furrowed her eyebrows, "For trying to help someone out?"

"You don' just go and piss away _my_ money!" cried Murdoc grabbing her angrily by the sleeve collar of her shirt, "We're leavin', righ' now, and then it's only practice an' your room. Thas' all the places you're gonna be for the next munth."

He pulled her through the hall ways until they entered the waiting room again to see Russel and 2D standing in the center.

"Noodle, luv," said 2D approaching her, "there ya are!"

He reached out to give her a hug. Noodle shook her head...he was so childish when he was sleepy. However, Murdoc stepped between the two.

"No," he said, "lil' bitch is grounded. No 'ugs."

Russel raised an eyebrow, "What'd she do?"

"She said _we _were going to fuckin' _pay_ the bills for the girl ya guys dragged in!" cried Murdoc, "an' she e'en went an' talked to 'er! Wot's the lil' cunts name...Mudski?"

"Mutsuki!" Noodle corrected him.

"Shuddup," snapped Murdoc.

Noodle's face colored a bit with anger. Her eyebrows furrowed. She knew she could beat up Murdoc right now if she wanted to, but then again, kicking the bassist's ass in a hospital wasn't exactly a bright idea on several levels.

"Ok, Murdoc," said Russel slowly coming over to confront him, "I think you're a bit outta control 'bout this. Noodle is just being nice, like she always is. We have enough money for this...really, oh don't even give me that look, man, you _know _we do."

"She isn't with her parents," explained Noodle quickly before Murdoc yelled at her again, "she's from the states, like you, Russel-sama. I think she ran away and made up her own name so she wouldn't have to go home. Probably dirt poor too...Basically, Mutsuki-san has _nothing_."

Russel looked over at Murdoc, "You have no heart."

"I didn' know all that!" cried Murdoc finally letting go of Noodle's sleeve's collar.

"Poor fing," said 2D shaking his head. Noodle looked up shocked and realized that 2D hadn't came with them to the hospital and wasn't there when she had gone to visit Mutsuki.

"2D-sama," said Noodle, "when did you get here?"

"Russel called my mobile," explained 2D, "thought I'd come an' join ya. Needed new meds too.." He held up a brown bag from behind his back. Noodle knew almost immediately that he had probably stolen them as soon as he entered the hospital's premises.

"We should take here in," said Russel.

Murdoc's eyes gave Russel one of the coldest stares that anyone in the band had ever seen, "Wot?" he hissed.

"I'm sayin," said Russel, "we should take her into until she can get back up on her feet again."

"Literally or hypothetically speaking?" snorted Murdoc. Noodle almost slapped him.

"We took Noodle in," stated 2D.

"She wos useful!"

Noodle smacked him.

"Ya know wot it's like," cried Murdoc rubbing a new sore spot on the back of his head, "once ya in Kong, you stay in Kong."

"Del didn't," pointed out 2D. Russel winced at the mention of his old friend. Noodle gave him a sympathetic closed-mouth smile with sadden eyes.

"Tha' was different," said Murdoc, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, I'm coming back after practice," said Noodle, "and 2D's coming with me."

"I am?" asked 2D scratching his head. "When did I agree tah this?"

"You did a few minutes ago," lied Noodle, knowing he'd agree in a half a heartbeat.

"Awright," said 2D, taking a seat. He had a feeling they'd be around here for awhile. They all looked at each other, each exchanging emotions and thoughts with glances. Of course, all of Murdoc's were hateful and struck a bit of fear into everyone's heart.

"Ok," said Russel, "Let's just bring the girl in until she's fine and we can get her back with her 'rentals."

Noodle nodded in agreement, "Hai."

Murdoc scowled at Russel, "I dun' like it."

"You don't like anything, man," Russel defended.

2D stood up, "Noodle's been no trouble, I'm sure she wouldn' be either...plus, give Noodle a girl in teh 'ouse to talk wif...she'd leave you alone, Muds."

Noodle looked over at 2D. He was actually using ideas and temptations to get the way that the other three wanted...he was being smart! She's had to reward him for that later...maybe let him win at a video game, or perhaps bake some of his favorite cookies.

Murdoc let the thought turn over in his mind for a while, "'ow old is the lass?"

"I dunno," said Noodle, "my age or older."

"Not eighteen?"

"_No,_" sighed Noodle, knowing what Murdoc had up his sleeves. The side of Murdoc's lip twitched.

"Mmm," he muttered. "If she gets a job, and pays rent...we'll...'elp..."

Noodle's face lit up, "I must go tell her!" she announced.

Russel grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, "We got practice, baby girl."

Noodle looked up at Russel with her most innocent, "please let me, I'll go good and you won't regret it" eyes. He sighed. She still knew how to get to him.

"Be quick," he ordered.

"Doumo arigatou gozaimuse!" cried Noodle quickly, "2D-sama! Come with me to meet Mutsuki-san!"

2D nodded in agreement to the demand and easily followed the teenager as she jumped through the cold hallways to the room. 225. Noodle entered the room for the second time in that hour.

"Mutsuki-san!" she cried, waking up the sleeping girl.

Noodle flicked on the lights which made Mutsuki sit up and groan in grogginess and pain, "Nani?" she snapped.

"You're going to stay with us!" exclaimed Noodle pulling a chair next to the bed and sitting herself down in it. "We're going to pay your bills, and you get to stay with us! Well, Murdoc says you have to get a job and pay rent...eeto...I'll just make sure he gets drunk tonight and he won't notice and..."

2D coughed from the back of the room as the door shut.

"OH!" Noodle jumped over the back of the chair and grabbed the singer's arm, pulling him closer to the bed that Mutsuki was resting in. "This is 2D-sama! The singer! I told you he'd come!" He didn't even have time to get in a 'hi."

"Did you already have practice?" asked Mutsuki.

Noodle shook her head, "I kinda got in trouble by Murdoc-sama, so we've been in the waiting room...eeto...discussing stuff. But it's alright! When we get back we'll practice and then I will clean out a room for you! The one next to me! Yeah!"

2D looked down at the rambling Noodle. Had she wanted female companionship this bad? He glanced over at Mutsuki. Her eyes had became wide with all the information that had been suddenly thrown at her. He had to look again. She had beautiful eyes.

"Um..." said Mutsuki, "thank you...but...I have somewhere that I'm staying...and I don't want to be trouble at all. It's not necessary."

Noodle's spirits dropped almost instantly, "oh..."

"Where ya stayin', luv?" asked 2D.

"Uh..."

"Streets?"

Mutsuki nodded.

"Thas' no good," said 2D, "you'll 'afta stay wif us! I won't 'ave it any other way!"

Noodle looked up at 2D and smiled. Mutsuki looked at the two uncomfortably.

"I won't stay long though..." she muttered.

"'Till you're eighteen," said 2D, "if ya don't leave then, well, who knows wot Muds'll do..."

"That's two years," argued Mutsuki, "way too long..."

"So, you're sixteen?" asked Noodle, not even having to think about the calculations in her head, she just knew.

Mutsuki nodded gently, "Hai, desu."

"I can teach you more Japanese!" Noodle thought out loud.

"That'd be...nice," said Mutsuki.

2D took the chair that Noodle had abandoned, "Where's ya parents, love?"

"Back in the states," muttered Mutsuki, "Don't wanna talk about them, thank you very much."

2D blinked, "but they raised you...you gotta 'ave some stories."

"It includes a belt, bruises, welts, and sores," Mutsuki rolled her eyes, "and let's not forget the days locked in my room crying myself to sleep!"

2D bit his lip. The new addition to Kong was going to be a project but it wasn't a project he could just let back out on the streets with the new information gained.

"Well," said 2D, seeing sleepiness intensifying in the girl's eyes, "geh' some rest...we'll be back tahmorrow." He got up from the chair and put an arm against Noodle's back, guiding her to the door. 2D opened the door, pushed Noodle through, and gave Mutsuki a final smile.

"Oyasuminasai," Noodle shouted before 2D shut the door behind him.

Mutsuki looked down at her broken leg and the cast that now covered it. She was going to be living with the Gorillaz in Kong Studios. She had heard about the place and knew that her luck was probably better living with the zombies than staying a night at Kong. Oh well, she'd be back out on the streets trying to find food and shelter from day to day if she didn't do this, even though she felt so pathetic. A multimillion dollar rock band had to take care of her. God, she would have been happy just sneaking into the halls of a apartment complex, taking out the light, sleeping there, and getting up early enough to put the light back in, and leave before anyone got up. Then again...if they made somewhat of a family and accepted her...that'd be night. No...she shook her head. Her last family had screwed her over and beaten her up. Sighing, she picked up a magazine that was left in the room when she had arrived. Some stupid Teeny-bopper magazine. Disgusted, the run-away threw it to the cold, unforgiving floor. Feeling tiredness, and perhaps sleeping aids, take her over again, she tucked down back into the covers, trying to find a sleeping position that caused the least pain, and fell back asleep with the lights still on.

----

Mutsuki was told the next day before the energetic Noodle came back that she'd be in the hospital for at least five weeks or longer depending on how she healed. Not exactly good news to her ears. For her it translated into a large cost that the Gorillaz would have to pay and the more they had to cough up, the deeper Murdoc's hatred would grow. Physical therapy began in a week and until then she was ordered to take it easy and rest a lot.

_Great_ thought Mutsuki to herself _This shall be thee most uneventful week of my life._

She rolled over in her bed and saw the sleeping aid pill that they nurse had left for her. Not wanting to be put into a drugged rest, yet again, she flicked it off the counter with her right arm, her good arm, and listened to it land on the floor with a _tap, tap, clack_. She missed being able to use her left arm and it completely sucked having it wrapped up in such stupid plaster. When they put it on they had chosen the color white for the cast...seeing that she didn't have the ability to pick the color that she wanted and they thought it would be safest. She saw it as a burden, wanting it to be black so no one would be able to sign the damn thing. The thought saddened the blond a bit though...no one would be there to sign her first cast...well, technically, second. Her left leg sported a cast as well that went from her ankle to her knee that they had put on first, also white, which they would remain with no markings. Grabbing the remote, Mutsuki turned on the T.V. Infomercial after infomercial appeared in front of her.

"If the hospital pays so much for cable," Mutsuki mumbled to herself, "why do they get such crappy channels?"

As the patient was getting ready to give up on entertaining herself and just stare at the wall, the door burst open to frame Noodle.

"Konnichiwa, Mutsuki-san!" Noodle said cheerfully entering the room. 2D loomed in the doorway behind her.

"Konnichiwa, dou dai ka," Mutsuki replied with her thick American accent. This made Noodle giggle.

"Genki desu ka?" Noodle asked pulling up a chair next to the bed, ignoring Mutsuki's question.

"Uh...eeto...tsumaranai desu," sighed Mutsuki.

2D came into the room and shut the door when he saw Mutsuki's facial expression sadden "wot? Can't understand a word ya saying, ladies."

"Oh," said Noodle turning to 2D, "she isn't feeling too well...kind of worthless."

2D gave a sad look over at Mutsuki, "why?"

"Because I'm stuck here for five weeks at the least and for a week I have nothing to do," Mutsuki explained, "it's not exactly my definition of fun."

2D nodded, "been there."

the room grew silent, once again, only the clock ticking was audible.

"So..." started 2D rolling his right ankle underneath him, "we found ya a room in Kong."

"Thanks," her smile was genuine and it made 2D give her a toothy smile back.

"Welcome, love."

"I start physical therapy next week," continued Mutsuki, "and when I get all these damn casts off, I'll be able to stay with you...if you don't change your mind by then."

Noodle placed a hand on the edge of the bed, "you will be, I promise."

"The bill's going to be awful."

"Awready taken care of."

Mutsuki smiled once again within the same hour, "Doumo arigatou gozimasu."

"Ya welcome," said 2D, figuring that she was thanking him, and for once he was right.

"How was practice?" Mutsuki asked, wanting the topic to be anything but her.

"'Ell!" cried 2D.

"Like always," Noodle added.

This made Mutsuki laugh...picturing the four argue back and fourth between their amazing songs that they had created. The three sat there for hours, exchanging small talk, dissing hospitals, telling jokes, Noodle and 2D would tell Mutsuki wild stories of their happenings at past concerts, and they'd watch the infomercials while mocking them. Mutsuki hadn't had true company for a while. There had been the people she had tricked into buying her alcohol and the other homeless people she had met under bridges and in shelters, but they didn't count in her mind. 2D and Noodle had been willing to listen to her, to talk to her, to just be with her. It made her feel warm inside, which was a feeling she had long forgotten until that day. She knew that Russel would accept her into the studios when Noodle had told her that he was the one that suggested taking her in until she could get back up onto her feet or until she was eighteen. The future held promise for the teenager, for once. However, in the back of her mind there was a fear that was starting to grow. Murdoc didn't seem friendly and they had already been off to a bad start...and yet, they hadn't even met. A deeper fear that lurked within this was that she was about to walk right into a trap that would replay sullen her past.

**A.N: Just to make things clear, my parents have never ever hit me or abused me in any way. I have never ran away from home or anything like that. This character is just loosely based on me and my thought process. I'm uh...very...sarcastic. Yes, that's the word. Sarcastic. Yes, I know it doesn't seem like too much yet, but I'm just gettin' all of you the background information and the start. Trust me, Mutsuki has many demons from her past that will take a toll on all of our loved characters...**


End file.
